AimThe Expansion‐Contraction model has been used to explain the responses of species to climatic changes. During periods of unfavourable climatic conditions, species retreat to refugia from where they may later expand. This paper focuses on the palaeoecology of red deer over the past 54 ka across Europe and the Urals, to reveal patterns of change in their range and explore the role of environmental conditions in determining their distribution.LocationEurope and western Asia to 63°E.TaxonRed deer (Cervus elaphus).MethodsWe collected 984 records of radiocarbon‐dated red deer subfossils from the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene, including 93 original dates. For each deer sample we compiled climatic and biome type data for the corresponding time intervals.ResultsDuring the last 54 ka changes in red deer range in Europe and the Urals were asynchronous and differed between western and eastern Europe and western Asia due to different environmental conditions in those regions. The range of suitable areas for deer during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was larger than previously thought and covered vast regions not only in southern but also in western and eastern Europe. Throughout the period investigated the majority of specimens inhabited forests in the temperate climatic zone. The contribution of forests in deer localities significantly decreased during the last 4 ka, due to deforestation of Europe caused by humans. Mean January temperature was the main limiting factor for species distribution. Over 90% of the samples were found in areas where mean January temperature was above −10°C.Main conclusionsRed deer response to climatic oscillations are in agreement with the Expansion‐Contraction model but in contradiction to the statement of only the southernmost LGM refugia of the species. During the last 54 ka red deer occurred mostly in forests of the temperate climatic zone.
AbstractLate Miocene continental deposits overlying the Khersonian marine sediments near the city of Maikop bordering the Belaya River (North Caucasus) yielded a diverse biotic record including palynology, ostracods, fresh-water and terrestrial molluscs, fishes, amphibians and reptiles, birds, and mammals. The obtained data indicate predominantly wooded landscapes along the banks of a large fresh-water estuarine or lagoonal basin with occasional connection with the sea. The basin existed in a warm temperate to subtropical climate with a high humidity and an estimated mean annual precipitation above 800 mm. The mammalian assemblage with Hipparion spp., Alilepus sp., Paraglirulus schultzi, Eozapus intermedius, Parapodemus lugdunensis, Collimys caucasicus sp. nov., Neocricetodon cf. progressus, etc. is referable to the early Turolian, MN 11. The data regarding composition and stage of evolution of the small mammal content combined with mostly normal polarity of the fossiliferous deposits, and the age estimates of the upper Khersonian boundary as between 8.6 and 7.9 Ma indicate a plausible correlation with Chron C4n and an age range between 8.1–7.6 Ma.
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